Tamper resistant hinge

ABSTRACT

A BUTT HINGE IS PROVIDED IN WHICH A PIVOT PIN EXTENDS THROUGH INTERLEAVED KNUCKLE MEMBERS WITH THE END OF THE PIVOT PIN THE OUTER KNUCKLE MEMBERS FORMING A CONTINUOUS SMOOTH SURFACE AND WITH THE PIVOT PIN BEING RETAINED IN POSITION BY A LOCK PIN AND A PLURALITY OF SWAGED LUNGS POSITIONED ON THE INWARD SIDE OF THE KNUCKLE MEMBERS TO BE INACCESSIBLE WHEN THE CLOSURE MEMBER SUPPORTED BY THE HINGE IS IN A CLOSED POSITION.

V il/ QQZ A. JOHNSON TAMPER RESISTANT HINGE Filed June 12, 1970 Nov. 23, 1971 J INVENTOR ARTHUR. JOHNSON guwmq.

ATTORNEYS United States Patent C 3,621,512 TAMPER RESISTANT HINGE Arthur Johnson, Box 293, RD. 12, Jamestown, NY. 14701 lFiled June 12, 1970, Ser. No. 45,642 lint. Cl. Ed 11/00 US. Cl. 16l37 6 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A butt hinge is provided in which a pivot pin extends through interleaved knuckle members with the end of the pivot pin and the outer knuckle members forming a continuous smooth surface and with the pivot pin being retained in position by a lock pin and a plurality of swaged lugs positioned on the inward side of the knuckle members to be inaccessible when the closure member supported by the hinge is in a closed position.

This invention is in the field of hinge constructions and is specifically directed to a butt type hinge having tamper resistant characteristics.

Conventional butt hinges have long been employed for hanging doors and other interior closure members in both commercial and residential buildings. It is desirable that such hinge members be pleasing in appearance while retaining rugged trouble-free operational characteristics. Moreover, it is also desirable that such hinge constructions provide a completely reliable hinge connection which cannot be easily disconnected by unauthorized persons. For example, many of the prior known hinges consist of a pair of hinge plates having interleaved knuckle members through which a pivot pin receiving bore extends. The pivot pin is normally easily positioned Within the bore and can be removed by a simple axial movement to disconnect the two hinge portions. Consequently, the door or other closure member can easily be removed even if the conventional lock is in a locked condition. Obviously, such conventional hinge constructions provide little or no protection against intrusion of the space intended to be secured by the closure member.

The aforementioned inadequacies of the prior known simple butt hinge constructions have long been recognized and have resulted in numerous attempts to provide more secure hinge constructions. Unfortunately, the previous efforts in this field, while representing an improvement over the prior known butt hinge constructions, have been excessively complicated and consequently expensive to manufacture and maintain. Additionally, the prior attempts to provide a tamper proof hinge construction have also frequently resulted in hinge constructions that are larger than the conventional butt hinge and which consequently do not provide the neat aesthetically appealing appearance that is desired for interior usage.

Therefore, it is the primary object of this invention to provide a new and improved butt hinge construction which is economical to manufacture and maintain while remaining tamper proof and aesthetically attractive. The manner in which the object of this invention is obtained by the present invention will be better understood from the following detailed description when read in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the preferred embodiment of the subject invention illustrating the preferred embodiment supporting a closure member in closed position with respect to an opening in which the closure member is positioned;

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the preferred embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating the preferred 362L512 Patented Nov. 23, 1971 embodiment with the closure member in an open position as viewed from the interior;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along lines 4-4 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along lines 55 of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along lines 6-6 of FIG. 1.

Turning first to FIG. 1 of the drawings, it will be noted that the preferred embodiment of this invention, which is generally designated 20, is shown as used for connecting a movable closure member 22 to a fixed support member 24. The closure member 22 as shown in FIG. 1 is in the form of a door mounted in a door jamb for movement into closing relationship with respect to the door opening. However, it should be understood that the subject invention could easily be employed for hingedly supporting other closure members such as in doors, windows or the like for movement into blocking relationship with respect to an opening.

The preferred embodiment 20 is in the form of a butt hinge formed of a first hinge plate 26 and a second hinge plate 28. The first hinge plate 26 is provided with three knuckle members comprising outer knuckle members 30 and an intermediate or middle knuckle member 32 with each of the knuckle members being provided with a cylindrical passageway or bore 34. Similarly, the second hinge plate 28 is provided with a pair of knuckle members 36 which unitarily extend from one edge of the plate and which include a cylindrical passageway or bore 38. Knuckle members 36 are interleaved between the knuckle members 30 and 32 of the first hinge plate so that the bores 34 and 38 are in axial alignment for receiving a pivot pin 40.

Pivot pin 40 is provided with radially inwardly extending grooves 42 and 44 adjacent each end of the pin. Moreover, a centrally located lock pin receiving recess 46 is also provided in the pivot pin 40. The ends of pins 40 are rounded so as to merge into the extreme ends of the outer knuckle members 30 to provide a resultant smooth surface as best shown in FIGS. 1 and 4.

The first hinge plate 26 is provided with a plurality of screw receiving openings 50 through which screws 52 extend for attaching the hinge plate to one edge of the fixed member 24. It should be noted that the first hinge plate 26 has an inner face 54 which abuts against the edge of the fixed member 24 and an outer or exposed face 56.

In a similar manner, the second hinge plate 28 is provided with a plurality of openings 58 through which screws 60 extend to fasten the second hinge plate to the closure member 22. The second hinge plate is provided with an inner face 62 which abuts against one edge of the closure 22 and an outer face 64 which is spaced from and in parallel relationship to the outer face 56 of the first hinge plate when the closure member is moved to the closed position as shown in FIG. 5.

A lock pin receiving aperture 66 extends through the middle knuckle member 32 in a position adjacent the outer face 56 of the first hinge plate 26 as best shown in FIG. 2 of the drawings. A lock pin 68 is drivingly forced into the lock pin receiving aperture 66 and the recess 46 to securely lock the pivot pin 40 within the bores :34 and 38.

Moreover, the outer knuckle members 30 are each provided with a swaged lugs 70 and 72 which respectively extend into the radial grooves 42 and 44. Consequently, pin 40 is firmly retained in position by the cooperative action of the swaged lugs 70, 72 and the lock pin 68 all of which are in a protected position closely adjacent the outer face 56 of the hinge plate.

It should be noted that the lock pin 68 is not accessible from positions external of the hinge when the closure member 22 is in its closed position illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 5, for example. It would be practically impossible to remove the pin 40-when the closure member is locked without substantially completely destroying the hinge member. Therefore, it will be seen that the subject invention provides a highly tamper resistant hinge construction which is simple and economical to make and which provides substantial protection against tampering. Moreover, the inventive construciton is also uniquely attractive in appearance.

It should be noted that the extended portion of the hinge as illustrated in FIG. 1 with the door in a closed position presents a uniquely attractive and streamlined appearance due to the shape and curvature of the outer knuckle members 30. This uniquely attractive appearance is accomplished without the use of accouterments such as attached knobs, buttons or specially formed decorative elements. Moreover, the inventive hinge of this application also serves to conceal the otherwise exposed mortising in the door and the frame in installations in which mortising is necessary for the installation of the hinge.

Numerous modifications of this invention will occur to those skilled in the art. For example, the invention can be practiced by the employment of lock pins driven through knuckles 30 in place of the swaged lugs 70 and 72 if such should be desired. Such lock pins would be essentially identical to the lock pins 68 as shown in FIG. 4. Therefore, it should be understood that the spirit and scope of this invention should be limited solely by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A tamper-resistant butt hinge for connecting a fixed support member having an edge surface forming one edge of an opening to a movable closure member for closing said opening, said hinge comprising a first hinge plate having an inner face and an outer face With the inner face being abuttingly attached to said support member on said edge surface of said support member defining an edge of said opening, a second hinge plate having an inner face and an outer face with its inner face being abuttingly connected to one edge of said closure unember, interleaved knuckle members extending outwardly from said first and second hinge plates with an aligned bore extending through said knuckle members for receiving a pivot pin, a pivot pin extending through said bore in said knuckle members so that said second hinge plate is pivotable with respect to said first hinge plate and said outer faces of said hinge plates are movable into spaced parallel facing relationship with respect to each other when said closure member is \moved into said opening, a lock pin extending into a lock pin receiving aperture in one of said knuckle members positioned adjacent the outer face of its respective hinge plate with the inner end of the lock pin being forcefully fitted in a recess in said pivot pin so that the lock pin is inaccessible externally of the hinge when said closure is closing and opening and inwardly extending swaged lugs in other knuckles of said hinge plate having said knuckle through which said lock pin extends with said swaged lugs extending into radial grooves in said pivot pin and with said swaged lugs being in general vertical alignment with said lock pin.

2. The invention of claim 1 wherein said swaged lugs and said lock pin are in the knuckles of said first hinge plate.

3. The invention of claim 2 wherein said pivot pin does not extend beyond the end knuckles of said first hinge plate and the outer end surface of said pivot pin and the outer surface of said end knuckles of said first hinge plate smoothly merge to define a continuous smooth surface.

4. The invention of claim 3 wherein said first hinge plate is provided with three knuckle members and said second hinge plate is provided with two knuckle members interfitted between said three knuckle members of said first hinge plate with low friction washer means being positioned adjacent each side of the knuckle members of said second hinge plate.

5. The invention of claim 4 wherein said low friction washer members are nylon Washers.

6. The invention of claim 5 wherein said lock pin receiving aperture is in the middle knuckle member of said first hinge plate and said swaged lugs comprise a respective swaged lug in each of the outer knuckle members of said first hinge plate.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,989,772 6/1961 Parsons 1613S 3,390,420 7/1968 Foltz l6l69 1,311,243 7/1919 King et al. 16--169 3,015,126 1/1962 Ahlglen 16-168 BOBBY R. GAY, Primary Examiner D. L. TROUTMAN, Assistant Examiner 

